Actress Marsai Martin is opening up about the “debilitating pain” she experienced before having a “grapefruit-sized” ovarian cyst removed.
The 18-year-old Black-ish alum penned an op-ed for Women’s Health where she got candid about her diagnosis and decision to undergo surgery to remove the cyst. She went in depth after first sharing her “scary health experience” during an Instagram Live session in December 2022.
“I had been diagnosed with an ovarian cyst four years earlier, and finally, at 18, I decided to have a surgery to remove it and relieve the pain I was experiencing,” Martin explained.
The Little star recalled how difficult it was to find information online about ovarian cysts “or first-person accounts from people I could relate to,” she wrote.
“I was scared after receiving my diagnosis,” Martin confessed. “As a young Black woman, I wanted to hear from women who looked like me that I was going to be ok”
After learning about the increased challenges women of color face regarding their reproductive health, “I came to realize that I could be that voice for people and fill that void,” Martin shared. It’s what prompted her Instagram Live session and her recent op-ed.
“I wanted to share my experience so that other women wouldn’t suffer in silence,” she wrote. “Before my diagnosis, I thought the crippling period pain and severe nausea I went through each month during my cycle was normal. So, I resisted going to the ER for my period pain for years.”
Martin continued. “And if I hadn’t sought out help, I probably would have continued trying to tough it out. I would have continued to go through intense, debilitating pain every month during my period.”
She recalled being just 14 when her doctor located a cyst 9.5 centimeters in diameter that they compared to the size of “a small grapefruit.” After being referred to a gynecologist who prescribed her medication to “feel better,” Martin says the “pain eventually progressed to the point where anything that went down — water, food, medication — would come back up.”
She ultimately decided to undergo surgery to have the cyst removed. But grew more worried leading up to the procedure.
“I have major anxiety, and I didn’t know how my body would react to the surgery and anesthesia,” she wrote.
After removing the cyst, Martin says her period pains “are way
better,” and the slight cramps she feels can be helped with medication. She hopes to inspire other women who might be ignoring the pain to get help from a medical professional and get a second opinion if need be.“I hope my story will encourage other women to not accept a life of pain, to get a second opinion,” she said.
“Pain is not normal. I want other women to talk about their pain, and to keep speaking out until they’re taken seriously. And to the women out there suffering silently right now: You owe it to yourself to speak up.”